Man has been created by Allah and blessed with countless blessings and bounties to live a comfortable life so that man is obliged to his Creator and thank Him for everything that He has bestowed upon him to live a happy and contended life. He alone is our is the creator, nurture, sustainer, provider, protector and at no time we should be turning away from Him in thanking for his bounties and repenting for our sins and for digressing from the commandments of Allah. However, at the same time we have obligations towards other men around us as we live in a society, heavily dependent on each other to live a happy life. We thus have rights over them and to them. While we always vie to claim for our rights, how often we are actually willing to care for the rights of others that they expect of us in return? This is something that we must be very careful about for if we hurt someone or usurp someone's rights, even if we realize later and repent to Allah, we shall not be forgiven unless that person who has been victim of our wrongdoing has forgiven us. Thus we must understand the criticality of our rights towards Allah and man. As for Allah, He is oft forgiving and in fact expects man to repent and beg forgiveness so that He who is Ar Rahman (The Most Gracious) and Ar Raheem (The Most Merciful) should forgive us. If someone commits a sin, regarding the rights of Allah, it may be undone with the help of repentance whenever someone realizes one's mistake.
But in case of wrong being done to a human being, Allah may not forgive even if a repentance is made in most earnest way for as long as the person who has been wronged has not forgiven. That is why Islam emphasizes on the rights in respect of others more we must be very careful in dealing with others and trying our utmost not to willfully hurt or usurp others rights, for if someone cries out to Allah in pain dealt to him by another, Allah promptly listen and responds. So let us be very watchful as regards rights of others to save ourselves from wrath of Allah both in this world and the hereafter. As regards to usurping rights of others, the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) has been quoted as saying:
So the one who behaved badly, his righteous deeds will be given to the one who was scolded, cheated, who was killed, and who was hit. If his righteous deeds finish, then angels will be asked to take the sins of those who were scolded, cheated who were killed and given to the one who oppressed. And by doing so the sins of oppressor exceed his own goods, he will be thrown into hell fire.
Please watch the video below by Professor Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar, Islamic modernist, exegete and educationist, on the subject. The video is in Urdu, but has English subtitles for those who cannot understand Urdu:
May Allah forgive us of all omissions that we have made with regard to rights towards Allah and man, for we will be too fragile on the Say of Judgement to be forgiven if we weigh less on the scale of forgiveness. Aameen.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
Eid al Adha is one of two annual festivals of Muslims that are celebrated with religious zeal and fervour throughout the world. Eid al Adha falls after the culmination of yet another revered pillar of Islam: The Hajj. “Adha” means “sacrifice” in Arabic, thus on this day, the Muslims sacrifice animals like goat, sheep, ram, cow or camels to commemorate the sacrifice attributed to Prophet Ibraheem (Abraham, may peace be upon him). In fact, the Muslims celebrate Prophet Abraham’s piety, and his willingness to obey Allah’s commandment, even if it meant sacrificing his son.
However, for most non-Muslims, it is something strange to slaughter an animal openly and in rather a barbaric way. Although, the meat market around the world kills animals in machines "alive", yet slaughtering of animals as a ritual by Muslims seems to them rather harsh. They even question why the animals should be sacrificed in the first place. Emmanuel Kant, the 18th-century German philosopher, criticized Abraham’s blind submission not as an example to emulate but as a failure to avoid. Abraham should have been certain about his own moral sense, Kant argued, and suspicious about an ostensibly divine voice commanding him to do something as cruel as sacrificing his son. Kant wasn’t advocating defying God, necessarily, but he was empowering human reason. While many non-Muslims support Emmanuel's viewpoint, some stereotyped Muslims living in non-Muslim countries too often their reservation to the very concept and manner of the slaughter and sacrifice of the animals. Why such queries are raised because we are drifting from teachings of our faith and concentrating more on reasoning in view of modern thinking that is devoid of submission to the Divine commandments. To understand the why of animal sacrifice, we must understand the philosophy and wisdom behind it. The philosophy of sacrifice displays total submission to Allah's commandment vis-a-vis any human considerations. When it came to accepting Divine will, Prophet Ibraheem demonstrated this spirit of submission and sacrifice to the best of his understanding. He chose to submit unconditionally to Allah and did not let human emotions come his way to deter him from carrying out the will of Allah.
Although, the act of Prophet Abraham took place much earlier than all divine faiths, that is Jewish and Christianity, its continuation as a ritual in Islam attaches immense importance as a display of total submission to the will of Allah. While querying religious rituals, one must keep the context in mind. Not only did the pagan Arabs sacrifice to a variety of gods in hopes of attaining protection or some favor or material gain, but so, too, did the Jews of that day seek to appease the One True God by blood sacrifice and burnt offerings. Even the Christian community felt Jesus to be the last sacrifice, the final lamb, so to speak, in an otherwise valid tradition of animal sacrifice (where one’s sins are absolved by the blood of another). It may be added that Islam in fact breaks away from this longstanding tradition of appeasing an “angry God” and instead demands personal sacrifice and submission as the only way to die before death and reach “Fana” or “extinction in Allah.” The notion of “vicarious atonement of sin” (absolving one’s sins through the blood of another) is nowhere to be found in the Qur’an. Neither is the idea of gaining favor by offering the life of another to God. In Islam, all that is demanded as a sacrifice is one’s personal willingness to submit one’s ego and individual will to Allah. In fact, Allah never "asked" Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son. Rather, the Prophet saw a dream as has been narrated in the Holy Qur'an [Surah As Saffat 37:102-107]:
102) Then when (the son) Reached (the age of) (Serious) work with him He said: “Oh my son! I see in vision That I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see what is Thy view!” (The son) said: “Oh my father! Do As thou art commanded: Thou wilt find me, If Allah so wills one Practicing patience and constancy!” 103) So when they had both Submitted their wills (to Allah), And he had laid him Prostrate on his forehead (For sacrifice), 104) We called out to him, “Oh Abraham!” 1054) “Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!” thus indeed Do We reward Those who do right. 106) For this was obviously A trial, 107) And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice.
Based on the dream, the Prophet understood that he had been demanded to make a supreme sacrifice, which for him seemed to be something that should be dearest to him of all. So, he asked his son to be that sacrifice, which his son obediently acknowledged without any hesitation. This is the total essence: Total Submission and Obedience. And it must be remembered that Allah does not need meat or blood of animals as has been mentioned in Surah Hajj [22:37]:
It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah: it is your piety That reaches Him: He Has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify Allah for His guidance to you: * And proclaim the Good News To all who do right
No one should suppose that meat or blood is acceptable to the One True God. It was a pagan fancy that Allah could be appeased by blood sacrifice. But Allah does accept the offering of our hearts, and as a symbol of such offer. Replying the to this oft asked query by non-Muslims, please listen to the answer by Professor Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar, Islamic modernist, exegete and educationist, on the subject. The video is in Urdu, but has English subtitles for those who cannot understand Urdu:
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
Salah or prayer is the second pillar of Islam and has been made obligatory on all adult Muslims five times a day. It is thus better to understand how many rakats / cycles / unit each prayer has for better performance of one's obligations. Although, the commandment to offer five daily prayers has been given in the Holy Qur'an, the rakats / units / cycles were told by the Prophet of Allah himself and he also demonstrated how these are performed. Salah is a physical, mental, and spiritual act of worship that is observed five times every day at prescribed times. When Muslims offer prayers, they must face Ka'abah located in Makkah, the Saudi city for uniformity of direction from all over the world. The number of obligatory and voluntary rakats / units / cycles of five daily salah / prayer are as under: Fajar The dawn prayer:
2 rakats voluntary (Sunnah Moaqqada)
2 rakat Obligatory (Fard)
Dhuhr - The midday or afternoon prayer:
4 rakats voluntary (Sunnah Moaqqada)
4 rakat Obligatory (Fard)
2 rakat voluntary (Sunnah Moaqqada)
2 rakat optional (Nafl)
Asr - The late afternoon prayer:
4 rakats voluntary (Sunnah Non Moaqqada)
4 rakat Obligatory (Fard)
Maghrib - Te dusk prayer:
3 rakat Obligatory (Fard)
2 rakat voluntary (Sunnah Moaqqada)
2 rakat optional (Nafl)
Isha - The night prayer:
4 rakats voluntary (Sunnah Non Moaqqada)
4 rakat Obligatory (Fard)
2 rakat voluntary (Sunnah Moaqqada)
2 rakat optional (Nafl)
3 rakat voluntary (Witr)
2 rakat optional (Nafl)
However, we need to understand certain basic rules for offering salah / prayers:
Salah has been made obligatory for all adult Muslims.
The Obligatory rakats / cycles / units in each prayer are the actual cycles / rakats of salah. If these are offered, one will be rewarded for these are Fard / Obligatory. And if someone does not offer these, he will be questioned on the Day of Judgement for not fulfilling the commandment of Allah.
The fard / obligatory rakats are offered in the mosque behind the Imam in the form of congregation.
While offering fard / obligatory rakats in the mosque behind the Imam, the first two rakats of the Fajr, first two rakats of the Maghrib and first two rakats of Isha prayers are spoken aloud by the Imam. All four rakats of fard / obligatory prayers of Dhuhr and Asr are offered silently.
All other voluntary rakats are offered individually.
Other than the Obligatory prayers, all other rakats/cycles/units are voluntary. If one offers these, he will be rewarded. But if one does not offer these, he will not be asked
In the voluntary rakats, there are two types: Sunnah Moaqqada and Sunnah Non Moaqqada.
Sunnah Moaqqada are those voluntary rakats which the Prophet of Allah never skipped or missed. So these are known as Sunnah Moaqqada and normally it is stressed to offer these as respect to the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allah. Some even stress that these are as compulsory as Fard/Obligatory rakats.
Sunnah Non Moaqqada are those voluntary rakats which the Prophet of Allah sometimes offered or sometimes skipped. Some call these as essential, if not compulsory.
The three rakats known as Witr are in fact the obligatory late night rakats for the Prophet of Allah which he offered after getting up late at night. Seeing the Prophet of Allah offering these three rakats, companions of the Prophet also started to offer these. However, some complained that they were unable to get up late night to offer these Witr rakats, to which the Prophet said that these can be offered after the Isha prayers. So normally these are offered after Isha prayer.
The optional Nafl rakats are additional rakats which Prophet too offered but never stressed over his companions.
In order to better understand these rakats and he obligatory / voluntary rakats, please listen to the following commentary by Professor Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar, Islamic modernist, exegete and educationist, on the subject. The video is in Urdu, but has English subtitles for those who cannot understand Urdu: :
May Allah bless us for any mistake that we may make in offering our salah and make us regular in offering at least our obligatory rakats in each prayer. Disclaimer: The data above has been collected from the references as given below. If any one differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
Continuing with our posts on the 99 attributes of Allah, the Almighty, this is our fifth post on the subject. Today we shall explain the meaning and details of two attributes of Allah: Al Ghani and Al Mughni. Al Ghani الغني(The Rich)
Al Ghani that means The Rich or the Self-sufficient. We all know that all that is within the bounds of this universe and the seven skies above and the heavens are the possession of none but the one and only omnipotent Creator of our - Allah the Almighty. He is rich to the extent that one cannot even imagine,thus He is free from any dependencies and thus is self sufficient. He is free from any needs nor needs anything, rather He is the one who transcends all needs.
In fact it is all others but He who are dependent on His richness and wealth. It is we who pray to be given a part of riches, which He bestows without fear of running dry of His wealth for His wealth cannot never run dry no matter how much he doles out to us.
Al Mughni المغني(The Enricher)
Allah is the Bestower of Wealth. The attribute Al Mughni is driven from Al Ghani: That is Allah is immensely Rich and thus He alone is the Bestower of His riches to us. It is we who always look up to Him to bestow us wealth so that we can fulfill our wordily desires and wants.
In Surah Al An'am [6:133] the verse begins with: وَرَبُّكَ الْغَنِيُّ meaning by "And your Lord is the Free of need (Self Sufficient)." That means He is so rich that not only He is free of any needs but is in a position to rain his wealth without even counting. In fact Allah is dependent neither upon the show of veneration nor upon the offerings of His creations. He lavishes His limitless treasures on human beings and seeks nothing in return. In Surah Muhammad [47: verse 38] Allah tells us:
وَاللّٰهُ الۡغَنِىُّ وَاَنۡـتُمُ الۡفُقَرَآءُ
"For Allah is All-Sufficient, whereas it is you who are in need of Him"
He is Ghani, the self Sufficient, the Rich, the One who is independent of any needs. In fact it is you, O'people who are poor and in need of Him !! The bestowing of His riches to us can be both monetary and spiritually beside health after sickness. He enriches His creation with so much of bounties like rain, sun, wealth, health, mental satisfaction and contentment. He also showers his bounties in the form of spiritual wealth when we need solace and recovery from grief.
Both Al Ghani and Mughni stem from the root gh-n-y which has the following classical Arabic connotations:
to be free from wants or needs
to be self-sufficient, independent
to be able to do without help from others
to be content, satisfied
to be rich, wealthy, flourishing
Summing up these two attributes of Allah, it should be understood that anyone who is wealthy and rich around us, is still in need of some wants or more wealth, be it monetary or bodily health or even spiritual need and no one but Allah alone is self sufficient in wealth that He does not need anyone else to make him more richer for He is self sufficient for He does not have any needs. It is He alone that in turn gives us wealth of any kind that we may want from Him. These attributes of Allah also want from us that whatever wealth has been given to us, we must share it with those who are in need of it. In fact we must set aside a share for the poor even it is as small as one date or a glass of water, or if a man's state is so that he cannot afford giving anything, he must at least pray for those in need. And those despite having riches unlimited but still deny helping those in need are in reality denying the command of Allah to aid the poor and are denying the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who always stressed to help the poor and lived a life practically demonstrating this. May Allah help us to understand true meaning of His attributes and act upon these in true letter and spirit. You may refer to our post "99 Attributes of Allah" for complete list of 99 attributes of Allah Almighty with meaning and explanation.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
Islam in Russia has seen many a ups and downs. During the Communist USSR, Islam or for that matter all other religions saw state suppression which professed communism. However, things are much changed in the present day Russia, where Islam constitutes the second major religion after the Christian Orthodox. As per 2017 estimates, Muslims numbered 14,220,000 or 10.0% of the total population. However, the populations of two federal subjects with Islamic majorities were not surveyed due to social unrest, which together had a population of nearly 2 million, namely Chechnya and Ingushetia, thus the total number of Muslims may be larger. These are the estimates as per an American survey. [1] However according to the grand mufti of Russia, Sheikh Rawil Gaynetdin, the total figure touches something like 25 million, [2] Muslims are said to have put their feet on Russian soil in 7th century. They came to a city that is currently known as Derbent, it is in Southern Dagestan. And the first Adhan, call to worship, in Russia, was made on the lands of Dagestan," According to Sheikh Gaynetdin said most Muslims in the country live in the Moscow region and other major metropolitan areas such as St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Islam was declared as the state religion in one of the states located in the territory of present-day Russia - in the Volga Bulgaria, in 922, which was 66 years earlier than the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity as the state religion of Kievan Rus, the Sheikh adds. [2] In Russia, there are regions where the population is traditionally composed of Muslims. These are the republics of the North Caucasus (Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia), as well as Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. In Russia, there are three federal centres for the management of Muslim religious affairs in Russia:
The Council of Muftis of Russia, Moscow
The Muslim Spiritual Authority, Ufa.
The Muslim Spiritual Authority, Caucasus, which acts as the coordination centre of Muslims in the North Caucasus
Islam is a part of Russian historical heritage, and is subsidized by the Russian government.The position of Islam as a major Russian religion, alongside Orthodox Christianity, dates from the time of Catherine the Great, who sponsored Islamic clerics and scholarship through the Orenburg Assembly.
The Cathedral Mosque is Moscow’s oldest mosques, 107 years to be exact, is one of the five mosques of Moscow. During the communist regime, while many mosques were destroyed, the Cathedral Mosque survived and has undergone reconstruction that now makes it the biggest in Europe. On its inaugural function, which was also attended by the Turkish President Mr Erdogan, the Russian President said: The renovation of the mosque has given a magnificent modern new look worthy of the capital of our united, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country. This new mosque is worthy of Russia, in which, I want to stress, Islam, under our country’s law, is one of Russia’s traditional religions, with millions of our citizens counting themselves among its followers.
How is the life of Muslims in Russia these days. Well generally speaking there is not much of a problem. Muslims have peacefully coexisted with Orthodox believers over many centuries. However, incidents of terrorism since 1990s, when explosions ripped through apartment blocks in Moscow and Volgodonsk, have led to serious levels of Islamophobia. And a segments of Russian society has started behaving suspiciously towards Muslims. On the street and in private, girls who chose to wear hijabs were seen as potential terrorists: people tried to stay away from them on public transport, and police officers frequently checked their papers. People saw immigrants from the east as Muslims—whether they were or not— and thus a foreign element inside Orthodox Russia. [5] In order to counter the negativity in the society against Muslims and calm down rising sentiments of Islamophobia, Muslims actively persuade fellow citizens not to confuse the faithful believers with those who call themselves Muslims, but actually do not follow the norms of Islam. Theologians too ask people not to associate terrorism with Islam, and to use education in preventing conflicts. How do Muslims feel about Islamophobia and how they try to contest the peaceful Islam, here are some exclusive mentions:
Azamat came to Moscow from Kabardino-Balkaria, and he often faced a lack of understanding about who Muslims are. “Many see the defiant behaviour of the people from the Caucasian republics and think that all Muslims behave the same way, but this is not true,” he says. “A true Muslim will not molest a girl on the street, for example, and he will not drink or smoke. The most important thing for a religious man is to lead a righteous way of life, to pray, to help relatives or even neighbours. If your neighbour has nothing to eat, and you live in a wealthy house, then you are not living righteously,” says the young man. [4]
Zulya was born and lived all her life in Moscow. She has always been a Muslim, but she started wearing traditional clothes only four years ago, after she got married and gave birth to two children. Despite a higher education diploma, she managed to get work as a nurse in a daycare centre with great difficulty. “The director told me that another Muslim nurse worked there before. She wore traditional clothes and the parents, whose children attended the institution, wrote a petition against the Muslim nurse that looked after their kids. Therefore, I had to hide my religion, not to lose my job.”
Mufti Farid Salman, Chairman of the Ulema Council of the Russian Association of Islamic Accord, said that the problem of hostility towards Muslims is not vivid in all Russian regions. “In the Volga Region there are no differences between people of different religions, they are neighbours, friends and colleagues. Despite the religious tenets, people of one religion do not seek to convert others to their faith,” says the theologian. “As a result, our close friends are followers of different religious traditions.”
Yekaterina, 35, embroidery designer, who is reverted Muslim, has all her family members following the Christianity while she and her son are the only Muslims in her family. but her son. She confides that "My son is five now, and any child born to a Muslim woman is also a Muslim. We had him circumcised in Egypt: in Russia it’s only done for medical reasons. But I’m bringing him up to accept all faiths – he's just like all the other kids. I’m bringing him upon my own." [5]
Dmitriy Sintsov, former Web programmer at Yaroslavl State University, who is not a Muslim supports the way Muslims live and support each other: [3]
"I am not Muslim, but I was interested with Islam, I read Al Quran and read some articles about it. When Geydar Dzhemal (a Russian Islamic revolutionist, philosopher, poet, and political and social activist. Dzhemal was the founder and chairman of the Islamic Committee of Russia) was alive there was the link to the video about the life in Russian Muslim Caucasus. It displayed the friendly supportive life, the respect to elderly, much less of divorces (stable families), no orphans, extended families with the friendly net of support. While in non-Muslim Russia there are so many alone people, very large number of divorces, large number of orphans."
After Russia's entry into OIC in 2005 as an observer, the intensity of contacts between the Russian Federation and the Arab - Muslim world has grown considerably, which objectively poses the question of expansion of modern Islamic infrastructure in Moscow - halal shops, centers, funeral services, prayer rooms and buildings. [6] Muslims in Russia celebrate their religious events like the holy month of Ramadan and the two Eids with religious zeal and fervor.. While doing so, they also open their religious functions to people of other faith to foster inter faith harmony. You may like to watch a video on Muslims living in Moscow celebrating the month of Ramadan:
Author's Note: The data above has been collected from the references as given below. IF any one differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
Prophets are specially chosen people of Allah since Prophet Adam was created from nothing. Since these specially chosen people are favourites of our Creator, there can be no questions asked as to how and why these were chosen. We do not know weather the earlier prophets were men of letter or not, but we do know that the last Prophet of Allah was an unlettered man. And this became a big excuse for the followers of other faiths as to how an illiterate man could be a prophet? For those who object to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) being illiterate, the simple answer is that although he was illiterate, the revelations upon him came through the Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) who would reveal a particular revelation, make him understand its context and explanation. The Prophet (ﷺ ) of Allah would then memorize it, and read out to a few trusted companions who would the memorize it. And that is how the Qur'an slowly and gradually built up. And that is why it took 23 years for the whole Qur'an to be revealed so that it could understood and memorized completely. In fact, it is a miracle that despite his illiteracy, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) received the Quran as a last testament. This is a sign that the Quran is a divine revelation. And despite all hindrances, the Divine commandants spread all over the world in the shape of the Holy Qur'an revealed on to an unlettered world. Please read our earlier post "Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) - The Dawn of Prophethood" which gives details how Angel Gabriel first approached the Prophet of Allah i the Cave of Hira, outside the city of Makkah and brought to him the very first revelation of the Holy Qur'an. These initial verses are the opening verses of Surah Al Alaq.
In fact when a revelation used to descend on the Prophet of Allah, it used to in-grind on his heart, as has been mentioned in Surah al-Shu’ara’, 194:
26:192) And indeed, the Qur'an is the revelation of the Lord of the worlds. 26:193) The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down, 26:194) Upon your heart, [O Muhammad] - that you may be of the warners, 26:195) In a clear Arabic language
He thus always felt as though the Qur’an had been engraved on his heart. His reading and reciting of the Qur’an was coming from the heart and was targeting people’s hearts as well before anything else. Such was happening effortlessly and naturally. Here it would be pertinent to mention an incident which has been oft misquoted to show that the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) was literate by the pagans of Makkah. Rejecting his Prophet-hood, they wished to prove that the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) was able to read and write and that he read the scriptures of the former nations and composed the Qur’an from them. They brought as evidence that during the pact of Al-Hudaibiyah the people of Quraysh refused to write the Prophet’s title “Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah” and asked to remove it. So, he commanded `Ali to replace it with “Muhammad son of `Abdullah” but `Ali, in reverence to the status Muhammad (ﷺ) refused to erase it. So, the Prophet (ﷺ) himself erased it with his own hand. They maintain that erasing means that he could identify it and he was able to write and read. However, the actual happening was different from what has been quoted. In fact when Ali refused to erase the word, the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) asked `Ali where was the word “the Messenger of Allah” written. When Ali indicated with his finger, then Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) himself erased it. Some critics of Islam even claim that when Allah had ordained Muhammad (ﷺ), why he still remained illiterate and why he did not learn to read and write. In fact some critics go to the extent of accusing the Prophet (ﷺ) for deifying the Divine commandment by not learning to read and write. What such critics fail to understand is that after the heavy burden of prophet hood was placed on his shoulder, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was more worried about the spread of Divine message to the belligerent audience who confronted him with all means available to them in order to stop him from spreading the world of Allah. He was many a times physically assaulted, stoned and strangled. Under such trying conditions, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) still confronted his opponents and finally won over a majority of them through his resilience and hard efforts. And if an unlettered man could overawe many learned and wise men of pagans of Makkah and other areas of Arabia of the time, it goes to his credit rather than a discredit. Watch the answer to the question beautifully explained by none other than Ahmed Deedat (Ahmed Hoosen Deedat (1918-2005) was a South African writer and public speaker. He was best known as a Muslim missionary, who held numerous inter-religious public debates with evangelical Christians, as well as video lectures on Islam, Christianity, and the Bible):
May Allah grant us wisdom to understand Qur'an and Sunnah to be able to dispel any misconceptions that non Muslims have against Islam. Aameen
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
Surah An Najm is the fifty third surah with 62 ayahs with three rukus, part of the 27th Juzʼ of the Holy Qur'an. This Surah was revealed in Ramadan of 5th year of Prophet's residence at Makkah.
The surah is also known for referencing the star Sirius in ayah 49 where it is given the name الشِّعْرَى (transliteration: aš-ši‘rā or ash-shira; the leader). The verse is: "وأنَّهُ هُوَ رَبُّ الشِّعْرَى", "That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star)." Ibn Kathir said in his commentary "that it is the bright star, named Mirzam Al-Jawza' (Sirius), which a group of Arabs used to worship." The alternate name Aschere, used by Johann Bayer, is derived from this. However, there are others who differ. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and Sufyan Thauri opine that Najm implies the Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters). Ibn Jarir and Zamakhshari have held this same interpretation as preferable, for in Arabic when the word an-najm is used absolutely, it usually implies the Pleiades. Suddi says that it implies Venus; and Abu Ubaidah, the grammarian, holds that here the word an-najm has been used generically so as to express this idea: When the day dawned, and the stars set. One of the most powerful attribute of this surah is that it is the first surah of the Holy Qur'an which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had publicly recited before an assembly in the Ka'bah in which both the believers and the disbelievers were present. At the end, when he recited the verse requiring the performance of a Sajdah (prostration) and fell down in prostration, the whole assembly also prostrated with him. Surprisingly even those chiefs of the polytheists who were in the forefront of the opposition to the Prophet (pbuh) could not resist falling down in prostration. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that he saw only one man, Umayyah bin Khalaf, from among the disbelievers, who did not prostrate but took a little dust and rubbing it on his forehead said that it was enough for him. The theme of the discourse is to warn the disbelievers of Makkah about the error of the attitude that they had adopted towards the Qur'an and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The discourse starts by saying: "Muhammad is neither deluded nor gone astray, nor has he fabricated this teaching of Islam and its message, as you seem to think he has. In fact, whatever he is presenting is nothing but Revelation which is sent down to him. The verities that he presents before you, are not the product of his own surmise and speculation but realities of which he himself is an eye witness. He has himself seen the Angel through whom this knowledge is conveyed to him. He has been directly made to observe the great Signs of Allah during his trip of Ma'iraj; whatever he says is not what he has himself thought out but what he has seen with his own eyes." After this, following three convincing arguments are presented:
The religion that you are following is based on mere conjecture and invented ideas. You have set up a few goddesses like Lat and Manat and Uzza, whereas they have no share in divinity. You regard the angels as the daughters of Allah. You think that these deities of yours can influence Allah in your favor, whereas the fact is that all the angels together, who are stationed closest to Allah, cannot influence Him even in their own favor. None of beliefs that you have adopted is based on knowledge and reason, but are wishes and desires for the sake of which you have taken some whims as realities. This is a grave error.
The final judgement will not depend on what you consider yourself to be, and on the claims you make about your purity and chastity but on whether you are pious or impious, righteous or unrighteous in the sight of Allah. If you refrain from major sins, He in His mercy will overlook your minor errors.
A few basic principles of the true faith are reiterated which were stated in the Books of the Prophets Abraham and Moses, so that there remains no misunderstanding that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has brought some new and novel religion. These are the same fundamental truths which the former Prophets of Allah have always been presenting in their respective ages. It is made clear that the destruction of the 'Ad, the Thamud and of the people of the Prophets Nuh (Noah) and Lut (Lot) was not the result of accidental calamities, but Allah has destroyed them in consequence of the same wickedness and rebellion from which the disbelievers of Makkah are not inclined to refrain and desist.
This was such an impressive discourse, by it even the most hardened deniers of the truth were completely overwhelmed, and when after reciting these verses of Divine Word the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) fell down in prostration, they too could not help falling down in prostration along with him.
Let us now read explanation of the Surah segmented into portions as per the subject matter:
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"
The first eighteen verses of this surah are considered to be some of the earliest revelations of the Qur'an. These verses address the legitimacy of Muhammad’s prophetic visions and also explain the scene of the first Revelation, brought by angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) The passage evokes the process of vision by tracing the movement along the highest horizon and then coming down and drawing near to the distance of “two bows” length. The passage ends with the affirmation of the validity of the vision by stating that the heart of the prophet “did not lie in what it saw.” The surah takes its name from its very first verse, which mentions “the stars” (najm):
وَٱلنَّجۡمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ
1. By the star when it goes down, (or vanishes).
Thus, Surah An Najm opens with the oath of the Allah swearing by every one of the stars, as they descend and disappear beneath the horizon, that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is indeed God’s awaited Messenger. It also refutes the claims of the disbelievers about the goddesses and the angels (ayah 9), and lists several truths about Allah’s power. It closes with a warning of the imminent Day of Judgement.
مَا ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمۡ وَمَا غَوٰى
2. your companion has neither strayed nor is he deluded;
Your companion here implies the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the addressees are the Quraish. The word Sahib as used in the original means a friend, a companion, a close associate. Here, making mention of the Prophet by the word Sahib-u-kum (your companion) instead of Our Messenger is very meaningful. This is meant to make the people of the Quraish realize: The person being mentioned is no stranger to you. He is not an outsider whom you may not be knowing or recognizing already. He is a man of your own clan and tribe. If someone of you were to say an improbable thing about him, there would be a thousand men among you who know him, who could see for themselves whether what was said actually applied to him or not.
This is the thing for which an oath has been sworn by the setting star or stars. Going astray means a person’s adopting a wrong way being unaware of the right way, and being deluded means his adopting the wrong way knowingly and consciously. The verse means: Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a well-known man among you. Your accusation that he has gone astray, or is misguided, is utterly wrong. In fact, he is neither gone astray nor misguided. Here, the propriety of swearing by the setting stars is that in the darkness of the starry night a person cannot see the things of his surroundings clearly, and from their vague appearances can form wrong judgments about them, e.g. he may take a tree for a ghost in the dark, a string for a snake, a rock in the sand for a beast of prey. But when the stars have set and the day has dawned, everything appears before man in its real form and shape, and there remains no doubt whatsoever about the reality of things. The same is also the case of Muhammad (peace be upon him) among you. You also know how well-intentioned and honest and righteous person he is. Then how can somebody from among the Quraish have the misunderstanding that he has gone astray?
3. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. 4. It is only an Inspiration that is inspired.
Verse 4 implies that things for which you accuse him of having gone astray or been misled and deceived, have neither been fabricated by himself nor motivated by any selfish desire on his part, but they have been sent down, and are being sent down, to him by Allah. He did not intend to become a Prophet of his own desire so that he might have laid a claim to Prophethood in order to satisfy his desire, but when Allah appointed him to that office through revelation, then only did he rise to preach his mission and to tell you that he had been appointed Allah’s Messenger to you.
Here, the question arises: Which of the words spoken by the Prophet (peace be upon him) are Allah’s Words: Do they apply to everything that he spoke, or to some of his words and not to others? The answer is: As far as the Quran is concerned, the divine words apply to it most completely. As for the other words, apart from the Quran, which the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke, they could inevitably be of three kinds:
First, those words which he employed for preaching religion and inviting others to Allah, and for explaining the themes, teachings and commands of the Quran, or for giving admonition and instruction to the people to fulfill the object for which the Quran was revealed. In this regard, obviously nobody can have the doubt that, God forbid, he fabricated these things from his own mind. In these matters, his position, in fact, was of the official interpreter of the Quran and of Allah’s authorized representative. Although these things were not revealed to him literally as the Quran was revealed; yet these were necessarily based on the same knowledge that he had been given by revelation. The only difference between the Quran and these was that the Quran, both in word and in meaning, was entirely from Allah, and in these other things the meanings were those taught by Allah and the words those which he himself employed to express those meanings. On the basis of this very distinction, the Quran has been described as wahi-jali (manifest revelation) and the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) other sayings as wahi-khafi (concealed revelation).
The second kind of the words were those which the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke in connection with the struggle of raising Allah’s Word and his services for establishing Islam. In this regard, he had to perform countless duties of different kinds as the leader and guide of the Muslim community. In this many a time he took counsel with his companions as well, and followed their advice instead of his own view. On being asked he sometimes told them that he was expressing a particular view not under Allah’s command but as his personal opinion, and on several occasions it so happened that he said something on the basis of his own opinion and later an instruction came down against it from Allah. As for the question whether these sayings were based on divine inspiration, the answer is that except for the things in regard to which he made it explicit that they were not based on divine command, or about which he took counsel with his companions and accepted their advice, or with regard to a thing against which Allah sent down an instruction after he had said or done something on the basis of his personal judgment, all other things were based on concealed revelation (wahi-khafi) just like the things of the first kind. That is why whenever his personal judgment was even slightly turned away from Allah’s pleasure, it was immediately rectified by manifest revelation (wahi-jali). This rectification of some of his personal judgments is itself a proof that all the rest of his religious judgments and interpretations were precisely in accordance with divine will.
The third kind of the things were those he said concerning common matters of life as a man, which had nothing to do with the duties of Prophethood, which he said before being appointed a Prophet as well as continued saying even after having been appointed a Prophet. About this kind of the things it should be understood at the outset that there was no dispute with the disbelievers concerning them. They had not accused him of being a misled and misguided person because of these but because of the first two kinds of the things. But although they were not the subject of any dispute, yet the fact is that in this private aspect of his life also never did the Prophet (peace be upon him) utter a word that was opposed to the truth, but at all times, under all conditions, his words and deeds remained within the bounds that Allah had prescribed for living his life as a Prophet (peace be upon him) and righteous man. This same thing has been reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in some authentic Ahadith. In Musnad Ahmad a tradition has been related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, saying that the Prophet (peace be upon him) once said: I never say anything but what is true and right. A companion said: O Messenger of Allah, you say things sometimes in jest also. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: Indeed, I never say anything but the truth.
5. He has been taught (this Qur'an) by one mighty in power.
That is, there is no human being who teaches him this, as you seem to think, but he obtains this knowledge through a supernatural source. According to some people, mighty in power implies Allah Himself, but a great majority of the commentators agree that it implies the Angel Gabriel. In (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 97), the Angel has been mentioned by name through whom this teaching had been revealed on the heart of the Prophet (peace be upon him): Say to them, whoever is enemy to Gabriel should understand that he has, by Allah’s command, revealed to your heart the Quran. If these verses are read with this verse of Surah An-Najm, there remains no doubt that here mighty in power implies the Angel Gabriel and not Allah.
Here, some people express the doubt as to how the Angel Gabriel can be regarded as the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) teacher. For this would mean that he was the teacher and the Prophet (peace be upon him) his pupil, and this would place him above the Prophet (peace be upon him) in rank. But this suspicion is misplaced, because Gabriel did not impart instruction to the Prophet (peace be upon him) from any personal knowledge of his own, which might give him superiority over the Prophet (peace be upon him). Allah, in fact, had made him a means of conveying knowledge to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he was the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) teacher in the metaphoric sense for being only a medium of instruction. That does not give him any superiority whatever. To quote an example: After the Prayer was prescribed five times a day, Allah sent Gabriel to teach the Prophet (peace be upon him) the correct times of the Prayers, and he led him in the Prayers five times daily for two days. This has been related in Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi and Muwatta and other collections of the Ahadith, with authentic chains of reporters, and in this the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself has explained that he was the follower and Gabriel his leader in the Prayers. But his being made the leader only for the purpose of instruction does not mean that he was superior to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in rank.
6. One endowed with immense wisdom. He came forth and stood poised. 7. While he [Jibrael (Gabriel)] was in the highest part of the horizon,
The horizon means the eastern edge of the sky where the sun rises and the day dawns. The same has been referred to as ufuq-mubin (bright horizon) in Surah Takweer, Ayat 23 [he indeed saw the message-bearer on the clear horizon]. Both the verses make it explicit that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw Gabriel for the first time, he had appeared on the eastern horizon of the sky; and there are several authentic traditions which show that at that time he was in his real shape in which Allah has created him.
8. Then he approached and came closer,
فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوۡسَيۡنِ اَوۡ اَدۡنٰ
9. And was at a distance of two bows' length or (even) nearer,
That is, After appearing on the uppermost edge of the sky, Angel Gabriel started advancing towards the Prophet (peace be upon him) till he reached and hung suspended about him in mid air. Then he bent down to him and came within just two bow-lengths or even closer. The commentators generally have taken qaba-qausain in the meaning of two bow-lengths, but Abdullah bin Abbas and Abdullah bin Masud have taken qaus in the meaning of a dhira (an armlength, cubit), and have interpreted the words kama qaba qausain, saying that the distance between them was reduced to only two arm-lengths. And since all bows are not equal in length, the approximate distance has been expressed by two bow-lengths away or even closer.
10. Then he revealed to Allah's servant whatever he had to reveal 11. His heart added no untruth to what he saw.
That is, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) observed all this in broad daylight in the waking condition, with open eyes, his heart did not deem it was a delusion, or that it was a jinn or a devil, who had appeared before him, or that it was an imaginary figure, or a vision that he was seeing while awake. His heart fully confirmed what his eyes saw that it was the Angel Gabriel and the message he was conveying was indeed God’s revelation to him.
Here, the question arises: How is it that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not entertain any doubt at all concerning such a wonderful and extraordinary observation, and he confirmed with full faith that whatever his eyes saw was a real face and not an imaginary figure, nor a jinn nor devil? When we consider this question deeply we are led to five reasons for it:
First, that the external conditions in which this observation was made, testified to its truth and validity. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not observe this in darkness, or in a state of meditation, or in a vision, or in a sleep-like condition, but the day had dawned and he was fully awake, and he was seeing the whole scene in the broad daylight in the open with his own eyes precisely in the way as one sees the other things in the world. If doubt is cast on this, then whatever we see in the day time, e.g. rivers, mountains, men, houses, etc., also would become doubtful and illusory.
Second, that the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) own internal condition also testified to its validity. He was in his full senses. He had no idea whatever in his mind that he should observe, or that he was going to observe such a thing. His mind was absolutely free from such a thought and any longing for it, and in this state he met with this experience suddenly. There was no room for doubting that the eyes were seeing an actual scene, but that an imaginary thing had appeared before his eyes.
Third, that the being who had appeared before him in that condition was so marvelous and magnificent, so beautiful and bright, that neither had he ever had any concept of such a being before that he could take it for a product of his own imagination, nor could a jinn or a devil have such an appearance that he would have taken him for a being other than an angel. Abdullah bin Masud has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: I saw Gabriel in the shape that he had six hundred wings. (Musnad Ahmad).
Fourth, that the teaching that the being was imparting also testified to the validity of the observation. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had no concept of the knowledge that he received suddenly through him, a knowledge that comprehended the realities and truths of the whole universe. About it he could not have the doubt that it consisted of his own ideas which were being set and arranged by his own mind. Likewise, there was no ground for thinking either that it was Satan who was imparting that knowledge to him and thus deluding him, for it is not for Satan that he should teach, nor can he ever teach, the doctrine of Tauhid to man as against polytheism and idol-worship, that he should warn of the accountability of the Hereafter, that he should create contempt against ignorance and its practices, that he should invite people to moral excellence, and should exhort a person not only to accept that teaching himself but should also rise to eradicate polytheism, injustice, wickedness and sin from the world and replace these evils by the virtues of Tauhid, justice, equity and piety.
The fifth and by far the most important reason is that when Allah chooses a certain person for His Prophethood, He cleanses his heart of doubts and suspicions and evil suggestions and fills it with faith and conviction. In that state no hesitation or vacillation is caused in his mind about the validity of whatever his eyes see and his ears hear. He accepts with complete satisfaction of the heart every truth that is revealed to him by his Lord, whether it is in the form of an observation that he is made to witness with the eyes, or in the form of knowledge which he is inspired with, or in the form of a revelation that is recited to him literally. In all these cases the Prophet is fully aware that he is absolutely safe and secure against Satanic interference of every kind, and whatever he is receiving in any form is precisely and definitely from his Lord. Like all God-given feelings this sense and feeling of the Prophet also is a certainty which does not admit of any misunderstanding. Just as the fish has a God-given sense of being a swimmer, the bird of being a bird, and the man of being a man, and there can be no likelihood of any misunderstanding in this regard, so has the Prophet also a God given sense of his being a Prophet. He does not even for a moment entertain the doubt that he has perhaps been involved in the misunderstanding of being a Prophet.
12. Will you then dispute with him (Muhammad ) about what he saw [during the Mi'raj: (Ascent of the Prophet over the seven heavens)] . 13. And indeed he (Muhammad ) saw him [Jibrael (Gabriel)] at a second descent (i.e. another time).
عِنۡدَ سِدۡرَةِالۡمُنۡتَهٰى
14. Near Sidrat-ul-Muntaha [lote-tree of the utmost boundary (beyond which none can pass)],
Sidrah in Arabic means the lote-tree and muntaha the extreme edge or limit. Thus, literally, sidrat-al-muntaha means the lote-tree that is situated on the extreme edge or limit. Allama Alusi in his Ruh al-Maani has explained it thus: At this the knowledge of every learned man comes to an end; whatever is beyond it is known to none but Allah. Almost the same explanation of it has been given by Ibn Jarir in his commentary, and by Ibn kathir in An-Nihayah fi Gharib alHadith wal-Athar. It is difficult for us to know what kind of a lote-tree it is that is situated at the farthest end of this physical world and what is its nature and state. These are the mysteries of the divine universe which are incomprehensible for us. In any case, it is some such thing for which there was no more appropriate word than sidrah in human language, in the sight of Allah
عِنۡدَهَا جَنَّةُ الۡمَاۡوٰىؕ
15. near which is the Garden of Abode.
This is about the Holy Prophet’s second meeting with Gabriel in which he appeared before him in his real shape and nature. The place where this meeting took place has been described as Sidrat-al-muntaha, along with which it has been said that nearby it is located Jannat-al-mava (Garden of Repose).
Jannat al-mava literally means the Jannat (Garden) that is to be an abode. Hasan Basri says that this is the same Jannat which the believers and righteous will be given in the Hereafter, and from this same verse he has argued that that Jannat is in the heavens. Qatadah says that this is the Jannat in which the souls of the martyrs are kept, it does not imply the Jannat that is to be given in the Hereafter. Ibn Abbas also says the same but adds that the Jannat to be granted to the believers in the Hereafter is not in the heavens but here on the earth.
16. When that covered the lote-tree which did cover it!
That is, its splendor and glory exceeds all description. The divine glory and effulgence was such as can neither be conceived by man nor can any human language depict it adequately.
17. His eye did not waver, nor did it stray,
That is, on the one hand, the Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah was so firm and steadfast that even in the presence of the great divine splendor and glory his sight was not dazzled and he went on gazing at it with great composure. On the other hand, he was in such complete control of himself and so exclusively attentive that he kept his mind and his sight focused upon the object for which he had been summoned, and he did not let his sight wander to any side like a spectator’s to have a glimpse of the wonderful objects present there.
18. Indeed he (Muhammad ) did see, of the Greatest Signs, of his Lord (Allah).
This verse clearly states that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had not seen Allah but His wonderful sings. Even according to the context, this second meeting also took place with the same being with whom the first meeting had taken place. Therefore, one will have to admit that neither the one whom he had first seen on the uppermost horizon was Allah nor he whom he saw afterwards by the farthest lote-tree was Allah. Had he seen Allah Almighty on either occasion it would have been a great thing and must certainly have been mentioned here explicitly. About the Prophet Moses it has been said in the Quran that he had besought to see Allah And the reply given was: Lan tarani You cannot see Me. (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 143). Now, obviously this honor was not granted to the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). Had it been granted to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), it would by itself have been such an important thing which must have been stated in clear words. But we see that nowhere in the Quran has it been said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had seen his Sustainer and Lord. Even in Surah Bani-Israil also, where mention has been made of the event of Miraj (Ascension), it has been said that: We had transported Our servant...so that We may show him some of Our signs, and here also in connection with his visit at sidrat al-muntaha, it has been said: He saw of the greatest signs of His Lord.
Verses 19-25 are about the three major idols of the pagan; Lat, Uzza and Manat (goddesses of Arabs) saying that they are nothing but names in vented by pagan Arabs. Verse number 19 begins with the mention of three gods and goddesses of the Arab pagans.
19. Have you then considered Al-Lat, and Al-'Uzza (two idols of the pagan Arabs)
The shrine of Lat was in Ta'if and the Bani Thaqif were its devotees.
'Uzza is the name of a female goddess, which enjoyed pagans' veneration and respect. This was the special goddess of the Quraish and her shrine was situated at Hurad in the valley of Nakhlah, between Makkah and Ta'if. The people of Bani Shaiban, who were the allies of the Bani Hashim, were its attendants. The Quraish and the people of other tribes paid visits to it and presented offerings and made sacrifices to it. As for the Ka`bah sacrificial animals were driven to it also and it was held in the highest esteem.
The shrine of Manat was situated at Qudaid by the Red Sea between Makkah and Madinah, and the people of Khuza`ah and Aus and Khazraj were in particular its great devotees. People visited it as pilgrims, circumambulated it and made offerings and sacrifices before it.
20. And Manat (another idol of the pagan Arabs), the other third?
That is, you regard the teachings being given to you by Muhammad (peace be upon him) as erroneous and falsehood, whereas he is being given this knowledge by Allah, and Allah has made him see with his own eyes the verities to which he is testifying before you. Now consider it for yourself as to how irrational are the beliefs that you are following persistently and as to whom you are causing loss by opposing and resisting the person who is guiding you to the right way. In this connection, especially the three goddesses that were worshiped generally by the people of Makkah, Taif and other parts of Hejaz have been taken as an example. About them, they have been asked: Have you ever considered rationally whether they could have even the slightest role in the affairs of the Godhead of the earth and heavens? Or could they bear any relationship whatever with the Lord of the Universe?
21. Is it for you the males and for Him the females?
[Verse 21] That is, you held these goddesses as daughters of Allah, Lord of the worlds, and did not consider while inventing this absurd creed that as for yourselves you regarded the birth of a daughter as disgraceful, and desired to have only male children, but as for Allah you assign to Him only daughters.
22. That indeed is a division most unfair! 23. They are but names which you have named, you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the Guidance from their Lord!
[Verse 23] That is, those whom you call gods and goddesses are neither gods nor goddesses, nor do they possess any attribute of divinity, nor any share whatever in the powers of Godhead. You have of your own whim made them children of God and deities and associates in Godhead. Allah has sent down no authority which you may produce as a proof in support of your presumptions. In other words, the basic causes of their deviation are two:
First, that they do not feel any need for the knowledge of reality for the purpose of adopting a creed and religion, but make a supposition on the basis of a mere conjecture and then put belief in it as though it were the reality,
Second, that they have, in fact, adopted this attitude in order to follow the desires of their souls: they desire that they should have such a deity as should help them attain their aims and objects in the world, and if at all there is to be a Hereafter, it should take the responsibility to have them granted forgiveness there too, But it should not impose any restriction of the lawful and the unlawful on them nor should bind them in any discipline of morality. That is why they do not feel inclined to worship One God as taught by the Prophets, and only like to worship these invented gods and goddesses.
That is, in every age the Prophets appointed by Allah have been guiding these wicked people to the truth, and now Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to tell them as to whom belongs Godhead in reality in the universe.
24. Does man imagine that whatever he wishes for is right for him?
The meaning of this verse [24] can be: Is man entitled to take anyone he pleases as his god? Still another meaning can be: Can the desire of man to have his prayers answered by these gods ever be fulfilled?
25. But to Allah belongs the last (Hereafter) and the first (the world).
In verses 26-32, it has been explained that Angels have no share in divinity, nor they can even intercede without the permission of Allah. Do not claim piety for yourselves, Allah knows who is God fearing and pious.
26. And there are many angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave for whom He wills and pleases.
That is, even if all the angels together intercede for a person, it cannot be beneficial for him not to speak of the intercession by these invented deities of yours, which can do no one any good. All the powers of Godhead rest with Allah. Even the angels cannot dare intercede for somebody before Him unless He permits it and is pleased to hear their intercession in his behalf.
27. Verily, those who believe not in the Hereafter, name the angels with female names.
That is, their first folly is that they have taken these powerless angels who cannot even intercede for anyone before Allah as their deities. Their second folly is that they regard them as female and daughters of Allah. The basic reason for these errors is that they do not believe in the Hereafter. For, had they been believers in the Hereafter, they would never have behaved so irrationally and irresponsibly. Their denial of the Hereafter has made them heedless of their end, and they think that believing or disbelieving in God, or believing in a thousand gods, does not make any difference, for none of these creeds seems to entail any good or bad result in the present life of the world. Whether the people are deniers of God, or believers in many gods, or in One God, their crops ripen as well as fail, they fall ill as well as recover from illness, and they pass through all kinds of circumstances, good as well as bad. Therefore it is not at all an important and serious matter for them that man should or should not take some one as a deity, or should take as many deities or of any kind as he likes of his choice. When according to them the decision as to what is truth and what is falsehood is to take place in this very world, depending on the results thereof appearing here, obviously the results here do not decide absolutely that one creed is true and another false. Therefore, the adoption of one creed and rejection of another is a matter of mere whim with these people.
28. although they have no knowledge regarding that. They only follow their conjecture and conjecture can never take the place of the Truth.
That is, they have not adopted this creed about the angels on the ground that they had found through some means of knowledge that they were females and daughters of God, but they have presumed this on mere conjecture and have set up these shrines at which they pray for fulfillment of desires, make offerings and pay tributes.
29. Therefore withdraw (O Muhammad ) from him who turns away from Our Reminder (this Qur'an) and desires nothing but the life of this world.
That is, you should not waste your time in making him understand the truth, for such a person will never be inclined to accept any invitation which is based on God-worship, which calls to objects and values higher than the material benefits of the world, and according to which the real aim of life may be the eternal success and well-being of the Hereafter. Instead of spending your time and energy on such a materialistic and ungodly person, you should devote attention to the people who are inclined to heed the remembrance of Allah and are not involved in the worship of the world.
30. That is what they could reach of knowledge. Verily, your Lord it is He Who knows best him who goes astray from His Path, and He knows best him who receives guidance. 31. And to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done (i.e. punish them in Hell), and reward those who do good, with what is best (i.e. Paradise). 32. Those who avoid great sins (see the Qur'an, Verses: 6:152,153) and Al-Fawahish (illegal sexual intercourse, etc.) except the small faults, verily, your Lord is of vast forgiveness. He knows you well when He created you from the earth (Adam), and when you were fetuses in your mothers' wombs. So ascribe not purity to yourselves. He knows best him who fears Allah and keep his duty to Him [i.e. those who are Al-Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2)].
Verses 33-62 explain that No soul shall bear the burden of another, there shall be nothing for a person except what he strives for.
33. Did you (O Muhammad ) observe him who turned away (from Islam). 34. And gave a little, then stopped (giving)? 35. Is with him the knowledge of the unseen so that he sees? 36. Or is he not informed with what is in the Pages (Scripture) of Musa (Moses), 37. And of Ibrahim (Abraham) who fulfilled (or conveyed) all that (what Allah ordered him to do or convey), 38. That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another.
[Verse 39] This verse is oft quoted when talking of punishments and rewards:
وَاَنۡ لَّيۡسَ لِلۡاِنۡسَانِ اِلَّا مَا سَعٰ
From this verse three important principles are derived: (1) That every person will get only the fruit of his own deeds. (2) That the fruit of one man’s deeds cannot be given to another unless he has a share in that deed. (3) That none can attain anything without striving for it.
39. And that man can have nothing but what he does (good or bad),
In this connection, however, four things should be understood:
First, that the reward of that act only can be transferred, which may have been performed purely for the sake of Allah and according to the Shariah injunctions; otherwise obviously an act which is performed for the sake of another than Allah, or in contravention of the Shari ah injunctions, cannot even entitle its doer himself to any reward, nothing to say of its transfer to another person.
Secondly, the gift of the rewards will certainly reach to those righteous persons who are staying as guests with Allah, but no rewards are expected to reach to those culprits who are placed in confinement there. The gift can reach the guests of Allah but the criminals of Allah cannot be expected to receive it.
Thirdly, the transfer of the reward is possible but not the transfer of punishment. That is, it is possible that one may do a good deed and may willingly transfer its reward to the other and it reaches him, but it is not possible that one may commit a sin and transfer its punishment to the other and it reaches him.
The fourth thing is that a virtuous act is beneficial in two ways: First, on account of its those results which accrue to the soul and morality of the doer himself because of which he becomes worthy of a reward in the sight of Allah; Second, on account of the reward which Allah grants him as a gift and favor. The transfer of the spiritual reward does not concern the first but only the second.
This can be understood by an example. A person tries to attain proficiency in the art of wrestling by constant practice. The strength and skill thus gained is in any way specially meant for his own self; it cannot be transferred to another. Similarly, if he is attached to a royal court, and there is a stipend fixed for him as a wrestler, he alone will receive it and no one else. However, in respect of the prizes and gifts that his patron may like to grant him as an appreciation for his creditable performance, he may request that they may be given to his coach, or parents, or some other benefactor, on his behalf. The same is the case with the virtuous deeds: their spiritual benefits are not transferable and their rewards also cannot be transferred to another, but as for their rewards and gifts he can pray to Allah that these may be granted to a near and dear one, or a benefactor of his. That is why it is termed as isal thawab (conveying of spiritual rewards) and not as isal jaza (conveying of material reward).
40. And that his deeds will be seen,
[Verse 40] That is, in the Hereafter the people’s deeds shall be examined and judged in order to see what provisions they have brought with them. As this sentence occurs immediately after the preceding sentence, it by itself indicates that the preceding sentence relates to the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter, and the view of those who present it as an economic principle relating to this world is not correct. To interpret a verse of the Quran in a way as is irrelevant to the context as well as clashes with the other ordinances of the Quran cannot be right.
41. Then he will be recompensed with a full and the best recompense 42. And that to your Lord (Allah) is the End (Return of everything). 43. And that it is He (Allah) Who makes (whom He wills) laugh, and makes (whom He wills) weep; 44. And that it is He (Allah) Who causes death and gives life; 45. And that He (Allah) creates the pairs, male and female, 46. From Nutfah (drops of semen male and female discharges) when it is emitted; 47. And that upon Him (Allah) is another bringing forth (Resurrection);
When this verse is read with the two preceding verses, the sequence by itself seems to provide the argument for the life-after-death also. The God Who has the power to give death and grant life and the God who brings about a creature like man from an insignificant sperm-drop, rather brings about two separate sexes - male and female - from the same substance and by the same method of creation, cannot be helpless to resurrect man once again.
وَاَنَّهٗ هُوَ اَغۡنٰى وَاَقۡنٰىۙ
48. that He it is Who bestowed wealth and riches,
Different meanings have been given by the lexicographers and commentators of the word aqna as used in the original. According to Qatadah, Ibn Abbas took it in the meaning of arda (pleased), and according to Ikrimah in the meaning of qannaa (satisfied). According to Imam Razi, whatever is given to a person over and above his need and requirement is aqna. Abu Ubaidah and several other lexicographers have expressed the view that aqna is derived from qunya-tun, which means lasting and secured property, e.g. the house, lands, gardens, cattle, etc. Ibn Zaid, however, has given quite a different meaning of it. He says that aqua here has been used in the sense of afqara (made penniless), and the verse means: He made whomever He pleased rich and whomever He pleased penniless.
وَاَنَّهٗ هُوَ رَبُّ الشِّعۡرٰىۙ
49. that He is the Lord of Sirius,
Shiera is the brightest star in the heavens, which is also known by the names of Mirzam al-Jawza, al-Kalb al-Akbar, al-Kalb al-Jabbar, Ash-Shira al-Abur, etc. In English it is called Sirius, Dog Star and Canis Majoris. It is 23 times as luminous as the Sun, but as it shines over eight light-years away from the earth, it appears to be smaller and less luminous than the Sun. The Egyptians worshiped it, for it made its appearance at about the time of the season when the annual floods were beginning in the Nile; the Egyptians believed that Sirius caused the Nile floods. The pagan Arabs also held the belief that this star influenced human destinies. That is why they worshiped it as a deity, and the Bani Khuzaah, the neighboring tribe of the Quraish, were particularly well-known for being its devotees. What Allah says means: Your destinies are not made and controlled by Shiera but by the Lord of Shiera.
50. And that it is He (Allah) Who destroyed the former 'Ad (people),
Here the mention ofthe ancient Aad is made to whom the Prophet Houd (peace be upon him) had been appointed as a Prophet. When those people were inflicted with the torment in consequence of denying the Prophet Houd (peace be upon him), only the believers escaped the punishment. Their descendants are called Aad Ukhra, or the latter Aad, in history.
51. And Thamud (people). He spared none of them. 52. And the people of Nuh (Noah) aforetime, verily, they were more unjust and more rebellious and transgressing [in disobeying Allah and His Messenger Nuh (Noah)].
53. And He destroyed the overthrown cities [of Sodom to which Prophet Lout (Lot) was sent]. 54. So there covered them that which did cover (i.e. torment with stones).
“The subverted settlements”: the settlements of the people of Lot, and “covered them that which did cover” probably imply the waters of the Dead Sea, which spread over their settlements after they had sunk underground, and covered the region even till this day.
فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكَ تَتَمَارٰى
55. Then which of the Graces of your Lord (O man!) will you doubt.
The word tatamara, as used in the text, means both to doubt and to wrangle. The address is directed to every listener. To every person who may be listening to this discourse, it is being said: Even after witnessing what has been the fate in human history of denying the bounties of Allah and of wrangling with the Prophets concerning them, will you still commit the same folly? What the former peoples had doubted was whether the bounties and blessings they were enjoying in the world, had been bestowed by One God, or by other associates of His, or by no one, but had become available by themselves. On account of this they wrangled with the Prophets. The Prophets asserted that all these blessings had been granted to them by God, and by One God alone; therefore, they should be grateful to Him and should serve Him alone; but the people did not believe this and wrangled with the Prophets on this very account. Now, O man: Don’t you see in history what fate these nations met for entertaining this doubt and for their wrangling? Will you entertain the same doubt and indulge in the same wrangling as proved disastrous for others?
In this connection, one should also bear in mind that the Aad and the Thamud and the people of Noah had passed long before the Prophet Abraham, and the people of Lot had met with the torment during his own lifetime. Therefore, there can be no difficulty in regarding this passage as a part of the resume of the Prophet Abraham’s Books.
هٰذَا نَذِيۡرٌ مِّنَ النُّذُرِ الۡاُوۡلٰٓى
56. This is a warning among the warnings of yore.
The words in the original are: Hadha nadhir-un-minan- nudhur-il-ula. The commentators have expressed three points of view in the explanation of this sentence. First, that nadhir here implies the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him); second, that it implies the Quran; third, that it implies the fate of the peoples already destroyed, which has been referred to in the foregoing verses. In view of the context, it is the opinion of the most that this last commentary is preferable.
57. The Day of Resurrection draws near, 58. None besides Allah can avert it, (or advance it, or delay it).
That is (verse 57), do not be under the delusion that there is yet enough time for thinking and consideration; therefore, you may not give immediate and serious attention to these things and may not decide that you should accept them without further delay. Nay: no one among you knows how much of the respite of life is left to him. Anyone of you can die at any time and the Last Hour can also take place suddenly. Therefore, do not think that the Hour of Judgment is yet far off. Whoever has any concern for the Hereafter, should mend his ways forthwith, for one may not have a chance to take a second breath after the present breath.
And (verse 58) when the Hour of Judgment does arrive, you will not be able to stop it, nor your deities other than Allah have the power to avert it. Allah alone can stop it but He will not.
59. Do you then wonder at this recital (the Qur'an)?
Verse 59 means this: That to which Muhammad (peace be upon him) is inviting you is the same that you have already heard. Now, is it this very thing at which you marvel and feel alarmed, and express wonder as if something very strange and novel was being presented before you?
60. And you laugh at it and weep not,
That is, instead of weeping at your ignorance and deviation you, on the contrary, are mocking, the truth.
61. Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing, etc.).
Two meanings have been given of the word samidun by the lexicographers. (1) Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah and Abu Ubaidah, the grammarian, are of the view that in the Yarnanite tongue sumud means singing and playing, and the verse alludes that the disbelievers of Makkah, in order to suppress the recitation of the Quran and to divert the people’s attention away from it, would start singing in a loud voice. (2) The other meaning of it given by lbn Abbas and Mujahid is: Sumud means bending down the head out of arrogance; when the disbelievers of Makkah passed by the Prophet (peace be upon him), they would pass by him angrily with their faces lifted up. Raghib Isphahani in his Mafradat also has adopted the same meaning; accordingly, Qatadah has translated samidun into ghafilun and Saed bin Jubair into muridun.
فَاسۡجُدُوۡا لِلّٰهِ وَاعۡبُدُوۡا ۩
62. So fall you down in prostration to Allah, and worship Him (Alone).
According to Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Shafei and many other scholars, it is obligatory to perform a sajdah on the recitation of this verse. Abdullah bin Masud, Ibn Abbas and Muttalib bin Abi Wadaah have unanimously stated that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited this Surah for the first time in the Ka'abah, he had prostrated himself and along with him the whole assembly of the believers and the disbelievers had also fallen down prostrate. (Bukhari, Ahmad, Nasai). Ibn Umar has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited Surah an-Najm in the Prayer and prostrated himself and lay long in that state. (Baihaqi, Ibn Marduyah). Saburat al-Juhani states that Umar recited Surah an-Najm in the Fajr Prayer and performed a sajdah, then stood up, recited Surah al-Zilzal and performed the ruku. (Saed bin Mansur). Imam Malik himself has related this act of Umar in his Muwatta (Bab Maja fi Sajud al- Quren).
Although Imam Malik himself used to perform a sajdah here (as cited by Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi in Ahkam al-Quran), yet he held the view that it was not obligatory to perform a sajdah here, the basis of his view being this tradition of Zaid bin Thabit: I recited Surah an-Najm before the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he did not perfom a sajdah. (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Nasai). But this Hadith does not negate the incumbency of the prostration here, for it is likely that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not perform the sajdah then due to some reason but might have performed it later. Other traditions on the subject are explicit that the prostration was always performed on this verse.
You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Surah An Najm with English subtitles:
You may refer to our post "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, meaning and summary of other chapters (Though not complete but building up from 30th Part backwards for chapters in 30th Part are shorter and easier to understand).
Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic souses and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. However, the exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran are basically based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook Follow @IslamUltimate
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
